# Max Hammer

> Max Hammer is the co-founder and CEO of CrowdVolt, a Y Combinator (W24) startup building a bid-ask marketplace for live event tickets - pitched as 'what StockX did for sneakers, for tickets.' A Westport, Connecticut native and University of Pennsylvania graduate, he left an investment banking career at UBS to chase the rave-ticket resale problem he and his co-founders kept hitting after attending 80-plus shows in a single year. CrowdVolt launched in Brooklyn in early 2024, raised $1.4 million in seed funding from Brickyard VC, Goodwater Capital, Pioneer Fund and YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, and is expanding from EDM into broader live-events infrastructure.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at CrowdVolt
- **Organizations:** CrowdVolt, Y Combinator (W24), UBS, Credit Suisse
- **From:** Westport, Connecticut, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High school diploma, Staples High School, Westport, CT, Undergraduate degree, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads CrowdVolt as CEO, Graduated from Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch, Raised $1.4 million in seed funding

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Graduates from Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut
- **pre-2023** — Works in investment banking, with roles associated with UBS and Credit Suisse
- **2023** — Attends 80+ live music and EDM shows, experiencing the ticket-resale problem firsthand
- **2023** — Accepted into Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch; leaves banking to build CrowdVolt full-time in San Francisco
- **2024** — Launches CrowdVolt in late January, starting in Brooklyn/New York
- **2024** — Raises $1.4M seed round from Brickyard VC, Goodwater Capital, Pioneer Fund and angel Jawed Karim
- **2024** — Grows to 3,000+ active users and ~250 listed events; plans expansion to Miami, Chicago and California

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads CrowdVolt as CEO
- Graduated from Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch
- Raised $1.4 million in seed funding
- Attracted YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim as an angel investor
- Grew CrowdVolt to 3,000+ active users within months of launch

## Latest updates

- **2024-07** — CrowdVolt profiled by TechCrunch for its StockX-style bid-ask resale model; reports 3,000+ users and plans to expand to Miami, Chicago and California.
- **2024-03** — Raised $1.4M seed round backed by Brickyard VC, Goodwater Capital, Pioneer Fund and YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim.

## Links

- Website: https://crowdvolt.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-hammer-2360571b2/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/max-hammer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-22